| 2021–22Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball | |
|---|---|
Big Ten regular season co-champions | |
NCAA tournament, Second Round | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 19 |
| AP | No. 19 |
| Record | 23–10 (15–5 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| Assistant coaches |
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| Offensive scheme | Spread |
| Base defense | On-the-Line-Up-the-Line, Man |
| Captains |
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| Home arena | State Farm Center |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19Illinois | 15 | – | 5 | .750 | 23 | – | 10 | .697 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14Wisconsin | 15 | – | 5 | .750 | 25 | – | 8 | .758 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 10Purdue | 14 | – | 6 | .700 | 29 | – | 8 | .784 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | 12 | – | 8 | .600 | 18 | – | 14 | .563 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16Iowa † | 12 | – | 8 | .600 | 26 | – | 10 | .722 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 12 | – | 8 | .600 | 20 | – | 12 | .625 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan State | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 23 | – | 13 | .639 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | 11 | – | 9 | .550 | 19 | – | 15 | .559 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 9 | – | 11 | .450 | 21 | – | 14 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maryland | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 15 | – | 17 | .469 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 14 | – | 17 | .452 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 7 | – | 13 | .350 | 15 | – | 16 | .484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 4 | – | 16 | .200 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 4 | – | 16 | .200 | 13 | – | 17 | .433 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| †Conference tournament winner Rankings fromAP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented theUniversity of Illinois in the2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by fifth-year head coachBrad Underwood, the Illini played their home games at theState Farm Center inChampaign, Illinois as members of theBig Ten Conference. They finished the season 23–10, 15–5 in Big Ten play to finish in a two-way tie for the regular-season championship. As the No. 1 seed in theBig Ten tournament, they were defeated by No. 9 seedIndiana in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to theNCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed in the South Region, where they defeatedChattanooga in the First Round before losing toHouston in the Second Round.
In a season limited due to the ongoingCOVID-19 pandemic, theIllini finished the2020–21 season 24–7, 16–4 inBig Ten play to finish in second place. They defeatedRutgers,Iowa, andOhio State to win theBig Ten tournament and receive the conference's automatic bid to theNCAA tournament. As the No. 1 seed in the Midwest region, they defeatedDrexel in the First Round before being upset by No. 8-seededLoyola–Chicago.
Illini big manKofi Cockburn declared for the2021 NBA draft, before ultimately withdrawing and entering the transfer portal. After considering offers fromKentucky andFlorida State, he opted to return to Illinois.[1]
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zach Griffith | 4 | F | 6'6" | 220 | Senior | Fisher, IL | Graduated |
| Edgar Padilla Jr. | 10 | G | 6'1" | 165 | Freshman | Carolina, PR | Transferred toPensacola State |
| Ayo Dosunmu | 11 | G | 6'5" | 200 | Junior | Chicago, IL | Declared for the2021 NBA draft; selected 38th overall pick by theChicago Bulls[2] |
| Giorgi Bezhanishvili | 15 | F | 6'9" | 245 | Junior | Rustavi,Georgia | Undrafted in the2021 NBA draft[3] |
| Tyler Underwood | 32 | G | 6'2" | 180 | Graduate Student | Champaign, IL | Graduated |
| Jermaine Hamlin | 34 | C | 6'10" | 235 | Sophomore | Lincoln, IL | Transferred toEastern Illinois[4] |
| Adam Miller | 44 | G | 6'3" | 180 | Freshman | Peoria, IL | Transferred toLSU[5] |
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omar Payne | 4 | F | 6'10" | 240 | Junior | Kissimmee, FL | Florida |
| Alfonso Plummer | 11 | G | 6'1" | 180 | Graduate Student | Fajardo, PR | Utah |
| Name | Hometown | School | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke Goode SG | Fort Wayne, Indiana | Homestead | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Apr 17, 2020 | |
| Recruit ratings:Rivals: | ||||||
| RJ Melendez SF | Arecibo, Puerto Rico | Central Pointe Christian Academy | 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | Feb 15, 2021 | |
| Recruit ratings:Rivals: | ||||||
| Brandin Podziemski SG | Muskego, Wisconsin | St. John's Northwestern Military Academy | 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) | 200 lb (91 kg) | Apr 13, 2021 | |
| Recruit ratings:Rivals: | ||||||
| Overall recruit ranking: Rivals: 18 247Sports: 24 On3: 25 | ||||||
Sources: | ||||||
| 2021–22 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Note: While Dain Dainja is listed on the Illini 2021-22 roster site, he is not listed in the 2021-22 record book. Jacob Grandison, while listed as a graduate student, is a redshirt senior for eligibility purposes.
| Date time, TV | Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exhibition | |||||||||||
| October 23, 2021* 8:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 11 | St. Francis (IL) | W 101–34 | – | 14 – Tied | 7 – Hutcherson | 5 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (12,799) Champaign, IL | |||
| October 29, 2021* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 11 | Indiana (PA) | W 94–79 | – | 21 – Cockburn | 9 – Hawkins | 12 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| Regular season | |||||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 7:00 p.m., BTN | No. 11 | Jackson State | W 71–47 | 1–0 | 20 – Grandison | 10 – Bosmans-Verdonk | 4 – Plummer | State Farm Center (14,032) Champaign, IL | |||
| November 12, 2021* 8:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 11 | Arkansas State | W 92–53 | 2–0 | 17 – Hawkins | 12 – Hawkins | 7 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (14,327) Champaign, IL | |||
| November 15, 2021* 6:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 10 | at Marquette Gavitt Tipoff Games | L 66–67 | 2–1 | 23 – Frazier | 11 – Williams | 3 – Tied | Fiserv Forum (14,631) Milwaukee, WI | |||
| November 22, 2021* 5:30 p.m., ESPNews | No. 14 | vs. Cincinnati Hall of Fame Classic semifinals | L 51–71 | 2–2 | 18 – Cockburn | 10 – Williams | 5 – Curbelo | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO | |||
| November 23, 2021* 6:00 p.m., ESPNews | No. 14 | vs. Kansas State Hall of Fame Classic Consolation | W 72–64 | 3–2 | 23 – Cockburn | 13 – Cockburn | 7 – Curbelo | T-Mobile Center Kansas City, MO | |||
| November 26, 2021* 7:00 p.m., B1G+ | No. 14 | Texas–Rio Grande Valley | W 94–85 | 4–2 | 38 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 8 – Williams | State Farm Center (12,782) Champaign, IL | |||
| November 29, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2 | Notre Dame ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 82–72 | 5–2 | 28 – Cockburn | 8 – Cockburn | 6 – Frazier | State Farm Center (14,907) Champaign, IL | ||||
| December 3, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | Rutgers | W 86–51 | 6–2 (1–0) | 24 – Plummer | 15 – Cockburn | 5 – Frazier | State Farm Center (14,501) Champaign, IL | ||||
| December 6, 2021 6:00 p.m., FS1 | at Iowa Rivalry | W 87–83 | 7–2 (2–0) | 21 – Tied | 18 – Cockburn | 6 – Williams | Carver–Hawkeye Arena (12,072) Iowa City, IA | ||||
| December 11, 2021* 4:00 p.m., FOX | No. 11Arizona | L 79–83 | 7–3 | 27 – Frazier | 13 – Cockburn | 3 – Tied | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | ||||
| December 18, 2021* 12:00 p.m., BTN | Saint Francis (PA) | W 106–48 | 8–3 | 21 – Cockburn | 11 – Cockburn | 5 – Frazier | State Farm Center (12,302) Champaign, IL | ||||
| December 22, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN | vs. Missouri Braggin' Rights | W 88–63 | 9–3 | 25 – Cockburn | 14 – Cockburn | 6 – Grandison | Enterprise Center (14,953) St. Louis, MO | ||||
| December 29, 2021* 8:00 p.m., BTN | Florida A&M | Canceled due to COVID-19 | State Farm Center Champaign, IL | ||||||||
| January 4, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | at Minnesota | W 76–53 | 10–3 (3–0) | 29 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (10,112) Minneapolis, MN | ||||
| January 6, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | Maryland | W 76–64 | 11–3 (4–0) | 23 – Cockburn | 18 – Cockburn | 3 – Plummer | State Farm Center (12,981) Champaign, IL | ||||
| January 11, 2022 7:30 p.m., BTN | No. 25 | at Nebraska | W 81–71 | 12–3 (5–0) | 29 – Frazier | 13 – Cockburn | 5 – Frazier | Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,069) Lincoln, NE | |||
| January 14, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 25 | Michigan | W 68–53 | 13–3 (6–0) | 21 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 7 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 17, 2022 11:00 a.m., FOX | No. 17 | No. 4 Purdue | L 88–96 2OT | 13–4 (6–1) | 24 – Plummer | 6 – Tied | 6 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 21, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 17 | at Maryland | L 65–81 | 13–5 (6–2) | 18 – Plummer | 8 – Williams | 6 – Williams | Xfinity Center (12,331) College Park, MD | |||
| January 25, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 24 | No. 10 Michigan State | W 56–55 | 14–5 (7–2) | 16 – Frazier | 4 – Tied | 5 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| January 29, 2022 3:30 p.m., BTN | No. 24 | at Northwestern Rivalry | W 59–56 | 15–5 (8–2) | 22 – Cockburn | 9 – Tied | 4 – Grandison | Welsh–Ryan Arena (7,039) Evanston, IL | |||
| February 2, 2022 8:00 p.m., BTN | No. 18 | No. 11 Wisconsin | W 80–67 | 16–5 (9–2) | 37 – Cockburn | 12 – Cockburn | 7 – Frazier | State Farm Center (14,860) Champaign, IL | |||
| February 5, 2022 11:00 a.m., ESPN | No. 18 | at Indiana Rivalry | W 74–57 | 17–5 (10–2) | 23 – Frazier | 8 – Cockburn | 4 – Tied | Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall (17,222) Bloomington, IN | |||
| February 8, 2022 8:00 p.m., ESPN | No. 13 | at No. 3 Purdue | L 68–84 | 17–6 (10–3) | 18 – Cockburn | 7 – Cockburn | 5 – Frazier | Mackey Arena (14,804) West Lafayette, IN | |||
| February 13, 2022 1:00 p.m., BTN | No. 13 | Northwestern Rivalry | W 73–66 | 18–6 (11–3) | 19 – Cockburn | 15 – Cockburn | 6 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| February 16, 2022 6:00 p.m., BTN | No. 12 | at Rutgers | L 59–70 | 18–7 (11–4) | 20 – Cockburn | 10 – Cockburn | 5 – Curbelo | Jersey Mike's Arena (8,236) Piscataway, NJ | |||
| February 19, 2022 11:00 a.m., ESPN | No. 12 | at No. 19 Michigan State | W 79–74 | 19–7 (12–4) | 27 – Cockburn | 9 – Cockburn | 5 – Tied | Breslin Center (14,797) East Lansing, MI | |||
| February 24, 2022 8:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 15 | No. 22 Ohio State | L 83–86 | 19–8 (12–5) | 26 – Plummer | 4 – Hawkins | 4 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| February 27, 2022 1:00 p.m., CBS | No. 15 | at Michigan | W 93–85 | 20–8 (13–5) | 27 – Cockburn | 7 – Cockburn | 4 – Grandison | Crisler Center (12,707) Ann Arbor, MI | |||
| March 3, 2022 6:00 p.m., FS1 | No. 20 | Penn State | W 60–55 | 21–8 (14–5) | 14 – Williams | 6 – Cockburn | 4 – Frazier | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| March 6, 2022 6:30 p.m., FS1 | No. 20 | No. 24 Iowa Rivalry | W 74–72 | 22–8 (15–5) | 21 – Cockburn | 14 – Cockburn | 6 – Curbelo | State Farm Center (15,544) Champaign, IL | |||
| Big Ten tournament | |||||||||||
| March 11, 2022 11:30 a.m., BTN | (1)No. 16 | vs. (9) Indiana Quarterfinals | L 63–65 | 22–9 | 23 – Cockburn | 10 – Tied | 6 – Frazier | Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, IN | |||
| NCAA tournament | |||||||||||
| March 18, 2022* 5:50 p.m., TNT | (4 S)No. 19 | vs. (13 S) Chattanooga First Round | W 54–53 | 23–9 | 17 – Cockburn | 13 – Cockburn | 4 – Tied | PPG Paints Arena (17,410) Pittsburgh, PA | |||
| March 20, 2022* 11:10 a.m., CBS | (4 S)No. 19 | vs. (5 S) No. 15Houston Second Round | L 53–68 | 23–10 | 19 – Cockburn | 8 – Cockburn | 4 – Frazier | PPG Paints Arena (18,506) Pittsburgh, PA | |||
*Non-conference game.#Rankings fromAP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are inCentral Time. | |||||||||||
Source[6]
| Week | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | 11 | 10 | 14 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 25 | 17 | 24 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 20 | 16 | 19 | Not released |
| Coaches | 10 | 10^ | 15 | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 17 | 21 | 18 | 13 | 12 | 14 | 17 | 15 | 16т | 19 |
*AP does not release post-NCAA Tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.